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ACCA BT (Business & Technology)
Notes, Practice, Mock Exam & Guides
ACCA BT (Business and Technology, was AB/F1) or Foundation in Accountancy (FBT) is one of papers in Applied Knowledge Module. They syllabus states its aim is to introduce knowledge and understanding of:
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Business and its environment;
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The influence of this has on how organisations are structured;
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The role of the accounting and other key business functions in contributing to the efficient, effective and ethical management;
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Development of an organization and its people and systems.
ACCA BT pass rates performed very good and stable which ranged between 82% and 88% in the past five sessions.
There is no change in the syllabus between June 2021 and June 2022. Past paper questions seen in last year are still very good in preparing the exam.
In examiner’s report, many students perform quite well in the exam with good scores.
They perform well in basic accounting concepts, internal control, personal management techniques, dealing with conflict questions and some management theories questions.
Weaker part is mainly in ‘softer’ areas of study such as corporate governance and professional ethics.
You should take a great care of these ‘softer’ areas since both topics demand only a rudimentary knowledge in ACCA Paper BT but serve as a gateway to a part of the “Strategic Business Leader” examination at subsequent stage of study in ACCA professional qualification.
STUDY TOOLS
Exam Structure
2-hour exam
All questions are compulsory. The 2-hour computer-based exam will assess all parts of the syllabus and will test knowledge and some comprehensive or application of this knowledge.
Section A includes 30 two mark objective test questions and 16 one mark objective questions.
Section B comprises 6 four mark multi-task questions and each case will examine one of the six main sections of the syllabus.
In other words, Section A contributes 76% of total marks while Section B shares another 24%.
Syllabus
ACCA BT (was AB/F1) is the fundamental paper to begin with your ACCA professional qualification journey.
Its syllabus introduces to who may not have a business background, to the business, which as an entity is made up of people and systems which interact with the environment and with each other.
If you would like to pursue the professional qualification and put the letters ‘ACCA’ after your name, you have to pass all papers in Strategic Professional level including Strategic Business Leader (SBL).
The knowledge in BT is fundamental to you to prepare SBL.
There are 6 sections in the syllabus, which are –
A The business organization, its stakeholders and the external environment
Understand the purpose and types of businesses and how they interact with key stakeholders and the external environment.
B Business organization structure, functions and governance
Understand business organization structure, functions and the role of corporate governance
C Accounting and reporting systems, controls and compliance
Recognise the function of accountancy and audit in communicating, reporting and assuring financial information and in effective financial control and compliance
D Leading and managing individuals and teams
Recognise the principles of authority and leadership and how teams and individuals are recruited, managed, motivated and developed
E Personal effectiveness and communication
Understand the importance of personal effectiveness as the basis for effective team and organizational behavior
F Professional ethics in accounting and business
Recognise that all aspects of business and finance should be conducted in a manner which complies with and is in the spirit of accepted professional ethics and professional values.
In the exam, you will see questions from every section in the summary above. There is no one area you can ignore as all of them will be in your exam. Perhaps you find the topics above are separated, however, they are linked together in real business world as well as the syllabus design.
Section A and Section B is linked directly but the concepts in business organization also help your study in accounting and reporting systems, controls and compliance in Section C. In addition, professional ethics (Section F) is one of key topics in business organization.
Leading and managing individuals and teams (Section D) are linked to Section B, C and E.
Time Management
The general principle in ACCA Business and Technology Paper exam is 1 mark per 1.2 minute which means you have 100 marks to complete an exam within 120 minutes.
But you should be careful that the time spent on the case-based questions is probably more than what you need to work on objective test questions.
It is wise for you to practice mock exam to train your time management skills before you need to attempt the paper.
A lot of students ask whether they need Paper BT textbook and some tutors said it's their own choice.
If your answer to either of question below is yes, buy the book:
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Are you doing self-study with some popular tutor's notes?
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Do you commit to ACCA study?
Draft your study plan, buy a textbook and follow the plan strictly is the path to success.
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Exam Tips
Even the pass rate of ACCA Business and Technology is the highest among all papers, I don’t say it is very easy for every student to pass.
The pass rate is above 80% while the paper is divided into two sections. The clue to pass it with high score is whether you know which areas are more challenging so that you can better allocate your study time.
Section A is objective test questions which 30 of them are 2 marks each and 16 of them are 1 mark each.
You need to study the whole syllabus, but pay special attention of the advices below.
The questions with the highest pass rates include the following areas:
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Time management
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Leadership styles
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Types of business organization
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The purpose of International Financial Reporting Standards
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Some management theories, notably the Anthony hierarchy and scientific management
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The role of the Chairman and Secretary of a meeting
Lowest Pass Rate Subjects
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Organisational culture
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Corporate governance
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In the context of micro-economics, the theory of the firm
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Recruitment and selection
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Professional ethics
These areas should be considered with great care. The issue of relative lower pass rates than other subjects maybe some of you are new to the real business environment just after school.
The management theories and concepts learnt from textbook are not backed by any practical managerial experience.
It is more often to be seen in corporate governance and professional ethics because you need to advise your answer in a given scenario to test your application.
Therefore, my advice to you is to practice more questions on these areas to test your application.
Section B performance is good, especially I see many students are proficient in the SWOT questions to identify strength and weakness, and good at identifying roles within finance functions.
The areas for you to pay attention are organizational questions such as the benefits of shared service organization and the role of marketing.
In addition, it is found that the definitions in corporate governance and professional ethics are not done well in the past.
The last advice shared to you is about exam technique in objective test questions. A good technique is to apply a process of deduction to try to eliminate distractors (incorrect answers).
Then if a guess has to be made for the harder questions, it will at least be an informed guess involving fewer options.
